Questions about Ryan Lochte robbery
A Brazilian judge tried to detain Lochte and Feigen based on ‘inconsistencies’ about robbery report.
Conflicting reports about the Ryan Lochte robbery have come in as Brazilian judge, Judge Keyla Blank De Cnop ordered the seizure of Team USA swimmers Lochte and Jimmy Feigen with the intent of detaining both athletes while investigations of their report came under scrutiny.
Judge Blank De Cnop cited several inconsistences with the story of the athletes being held up by gunpoint as they were heading back to the athletes village after Sunday night. Lochte didn’t initially report the incident to police, but it came to light after his mother, Ileana Lochte started talking to the press about it. Ryan Lochte later spoke about the circumstances on The Today show.
“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing, just a police badge, and they pulled us over,” Lochte said. “They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground… I refused, I was like, ‘We didn’t do anything wrong, so — I’m not getting down on the ground.’
“And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘Get down,’ and I put my hands up, I was like, ‘Whatever.’ He took our money, he took my wallet — he left my cellphone, he left my credentials.”
Twenty-year old Gunnar Bentz and 20-year-old Jack Conger were with 26 year-old Feigen and the 12-time Olympian, Lochte. Late Wednesday night, it was reported that Bentz and Conger were pulled off their plane by Brazilian authorities.
The athletes had been out partying at France House and when the police interviewed Lochte and one other swimmer, they admitted to being intoxicated. They also couldn’t recall details on the color or type of taxi they rode in or the exact time of the robbery, according to the Brazilian police official. Whether or not this was the case of a bunch of athletes out having a good time and being fuzzy on the details later, or willfully vague, is another matter.
Ryan Lochte issued this statement on his twitter on Wednesday.
Lochte’s lawyer, Jeff Ostrow spoke with ESPN on Wednesday, saying, “My opinion is they are trying to use Ryan’s situation to use as a scapegoat to show that things down there are not as bad as it looks. These types of things have happened with other people, like the New Zealand athlete, but they don’t take half the interest they do with Ryan.”
The International Olympic Committee originally denied that the incident happened at all. Word got out after Sunday but the IOC spokesman Mark Adams at first issued a denial, then later apologized and said he didn’t have enough information.
Lochte told USA Today Sports that he and his teammates didn’t report the robbery at first “because we were afraid we’d get in trouble.”
According to the U.S. Olympic Committee, police went to the athletes’ village on Wednesday in an attempt to obtain the passports. The swim team had already moved out and Lochte is now back in the US.
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Police are saying Lochte and the swimmers have provided too little detail about the episode. Judge Keyla Blank De Cnop asked for them to be detained based on what she considered flimsy evidence, including video footage recorded a few hours after the incident when they arrived back at the athletes village. The footage shows the swimmers to be joking around and includes Lochte holding a wallet and cell phone, despite saying his wallet had been taken, although he was clear that his cell phone was never stolen.
What is certain was that they had been fairly inebriated when the incident occurred. Whether their jovial demeaner indicates a sense of relief having survived the incident or otherwise, remains to be seen.
“They arrived with their psychological and physical integrity unshaken,” Keyla De Cnop wrote, after viewing the video footage. CNN was unable to authenticate the video.
The judge also noted that besides Lochte, the other swimmers were asked to come to the police station and provide statements. Only one of them did. She also stated that because the supposed robbers left their cell phones and watches—usually prime targets for theft—the account seemed suspicious. However, this is all speculation.
Under Brazil’s law, the penality for filing a false police report can be up to six months detention or a fine.
Steve Lochte, Ryan’s dad, told The Associated Press by phone that his son had phoned him on Tuesday and said his wallet had been stolen and that he had planned to replace it.
“I’m just happy he’s safe,” Ryan Lochte’s dad said. “I don’t know what all the controversy is. They were basically taken out of the taxi and robbed. “Why would anybody fabricate anything?” Steve Lochte said. “It’s just ridiculous.”